I have been a volunteer for as long as...well, since I learned my first university degree. Most people have a specific nonprofit that they connect with, or a particular issue that they rally around. I have long supported K-12 STEM programs in my region, and volunteered in professional organizations such as BDPA, SWE, ASME and PMI.
More recently, I have spent my time with Stark Parks and The Wilderness Center, among others, providing services such as trailblazing, caring for rehabilitating wildlife, assisting in programming and supporting greenhouse operations. I am also completing the Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist certification, coupled with formal university classes and training courses in environmental sampling and mapping, as well as excursions to support environmental organizations.
In the three years since I began my involvement in conservation, I am very aware that there are only nonBlack employees at the parks and nature preserves. In response, I have put myself in a position for children of all ethnicities to see a Black person, a Black woman, a woman of color when they are at a site.
It is essential for Black children to see people who look like them in every career. It's not a coincidence that so many African-American young women have been flocking to gymnastics. Gabby Douglas, Dominique Dawes and other Black gymnasts have had a huge role in the decisions of the current superstars, including Simone Biles.
It is also essential for nonBlack children to view a Black person in a leadership position, particularly if their parents have taught them untruths about us. It is dangerous for them to grow up in spaces where they only see white faces. It cripples their thinking.
